print on demand

[damakha-95]

Can you operate print on demand if seller is based outside the EU and outside the US? So say in a country like Georgia? Also, if its a yes, can you mainly work for the US buyers? So print on demand printful plus ebay store. 

[femmefan1946]

I've ordered print on demand books from various sources both online and Real World.

Basically, I order, the seller prints, the seller mails.

As an eBay seller, I can ship anywhere in the world using the international postal system. Georgia belongs to the Universal Postal Union which administers international postal shipping.

The biggest problem I can imagine is the time lag between the order and having the book ready to ship. Most eBay/online buyers expect one or two day "handling" at most before their order is on its way.

[inhawaii]

I'm glad you answered because I had no idea what he/she was asking,

[slippinjimmy]

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@damakha-95 wrote:

Can you operate print on demand if seller is based outside the EU and outside the US? So say in a country like Georgia? Also, if its a yes, can you mainly work for the US buyers? So print on demand printful plus ebay store. 

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I looked into print on demand services for an online group that I participate in (had nothing to do with eBay selling). It was a way for members of the group to purchase "swag" t-shirts etc without the owner/moderator having to actually make them, ship them and lay out a bunch of money in advance.

There were two issues that made it not viable for that situation and likely completely useless for an eBay business.

1 - Pricing, outrageous, a simple t-shirt design (small one-color logo) on a basic quality shirt (the type you can buy at Walmart for $5 - $10) would cost members $40 or more.

2 - Delivery time,  the POD services I checked would need 4 - 6 weeks for delivery (within the USA)

On eBay those two things would alone would make that plan a non-starter doomed for failure, you would make no money and have lots of irate buyers.

[ckimodog]

@damakha-95 

I personally would not consider print on demand using ebay.  You have a time frame to ship your items & if you go past that time frame, whether it be you're backed up with orders, out of stock or you have more orders than you can handle would be a real problem for you as well as your customers.  I would consider just creating your own website and doing it that way.

Good luck to you. 

[gypzeerose]

I am going to start segueing into print on demand this year.  A lot of people on eBay are doing it successfully. There are people who will buy $40 tee-shirts, even though we know that we can get them at garage sales for 25 cents.   Just as I paid $5000 total for my car and people a bit to the south of me in Silicon Valley paid $100,000. The money was spent in proportion to the needs and ability to pay back. 

I will let you know how it goes!